Process of handling groups of flat pieces in laundries



W- S- AND J. L. WILLIAMS.

PROCESS OF HANDLING GROUPS OF FLAT PIECES IN LAUNDRI ES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5, 1920.

1,40 ,5 1 Patented Feb 14, 1922 I nu e nto-rs:

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WILLIAM S. WILLIAMS AND JEROME L. VJIIJLIAMS, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

PRGCESS OF HANDLING GROUPS OF FLAT PIECES IN LAUNDR'IES.

Application filed June 5, 1920. Serial No. 386,846.

To all whom it may chm/corn:

Be it known that we. VJILLIAM 55. Win- LIAMS and Jnnorss L. YVILLIAMS, citizens of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Handling Groups of Flat Pieces in Laundries, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to a method of manipulating and accounting for groups of flat articles such as sheets, pillow-cases, spreads, etc., which are sent to a laundry to be washed and ironed. H

The general custom in such cases is to send the articles in a group or bundle and they are usually identified by means of letters, numbers or other distinguishing marks placed on the article itself when received at the laundry. are put on the articles with indelible ink at some points where they will be least objectionable but from the neccssitles of the case;

They are often difficult to read and this method of identifying and manipulating laundry work is crude and unreliable. There is no way of keeping trackof the articles as the work goes through the various operations and as a result many claims are made by customers for articles lost.

This feature forms a large part of the annoyance and expense of carrying on the laundry business and the object of our invention is to devise an eiiicient accounting and manipulating method by which groups of articles may be put through the laundry, handled with great rapidity, accurately checked at some point of their passage through the laundry and finally delivered substantially free from errors and mistakes.

The fundamental feature of our process is the use of a tab or tag adapted to be sewn to the articles when received and to be ripped or torn from the article without injury to either the tag or the article when the laundry process is complete.

These tags are made of two thicknessesof tape about one inch wide stitched together at their edges and cut off in lengths of about three inches.

They are stamped or printed near the end with a number which is the same on each side of the tag and are read in an upright position looking from the printed end to the center. 7

These distinguishing marks These tags are collected in groups or bunches of any convenient numb-er each bunch containing usually-somewhat more than the number of pieces coming to the laundry in the largest package or bundle from a single source, usually about 40.

In carrying out the process, the laundry package of fiat articles is first unwrapped and counted and an equal number of tags is counted from some package containing the numbers which are to identify the articles in this paticular bundle, the tags in each bundle bearing, of course, all the same number. These numbers appear on both sides of the tag so that it can always be read plainly whichever side is uppermost.

These tags are now sowed to the flat pieces by stitching across their inner ends with a sewing machine, one tag to each article. The stitching is extended somewhat beyond the edges of the tag at each side so that the tag will not become loose in passing through the wash.

The size of the thread, the length of the stitch and the tension of the thread should be carefully adjusted so that while the tag is secured with suilicient firmness to remain attached through the various laundry operations it may still be easily ripped or torn from the article to which it is attached at the [conclusion of the process.

stitching will not be objectionable and where when the articles are folded the tags will project outward from the pile into which they are formed when handled and counted.

The tags having been sewed to the several articles and a record having been made of the number of articles in the group, the flat pieces are dumped into the washingmachine promiscuously with other groups or flat bundles having other numbers.

The articles are then washed, rinsed, and the water partially extracted by centrifugal dryers in the usual manner and they are then put through the ironing machine whereby they are flattened and ironed out into a perfectly smooth and flat condition.

. Articles with several different numbers which have been washed and put through the centrifugal machine at the same time will pass through the ironing machine indiscriminately.

Having been ironed, the articles are now folded with the tag projecting outward from one oi the edges 01"- the folded article and the several groups ct flat pieces are separated into several piles according to their numbers, each article in the sa ine pile having, of course the same number and having; the tags in a vertical line one above the other" where they can easily be counted and identified.

When the fiat or groups are in this condition the tags are examined and counted to see if they are all of the same denomination and contain the same number of pieces as when they came to the laundry.

Any odd number appearing is easily detected 01- any variation in the count is easily there is practically no mark left on the goods and the same are ready to be done up and delivered.

The tags from each group of articles are collected into a bunch, taken back to the point of beginning and added to the bunch from which they were taken.

lVe have illustrated our invention in the accompanying drawing in which:

ig. 1 is a plan of the tag,

. ig. 2 is an edge View of thesame,

ig'. 3 is a planet a flat piece as a towel to which the tag is? applied, and

Fig. 4, shows a pile of flat pieces showing the projecting tag.

-deferring to the drawing:

1 represents the tag made up as described of two thicknesses of tape stitched together at their edges and 2- represents the fiat pieces of the wash.

These tabs 1 areapplied to the flat pieces as in. the manner described and the process constitutes a yaluahleineans lor inanipulat mg and accounting "for articles which from their nature and the nature of the operations through which they pass are exceedingly diliicult to keep correct account of.

By this process we are able toutilize unsitilled labor, where under the old system, where the marking and identifying the articles after they were marked, and sorting them out, required skilled operators who are now di'llieult to get.

We claim The process of securing flexible marked to articles to be laundered whidh consists of sewing said tags to said articles-with e two thread stitch having a loose tension on each stitch and a weal; thread so that the tags may be torn oft without injury to the article and subsequently tearing the tags from the article.

in testimony whereof we have afiixed our signatures.

WILLIAM S. WILLIAMS. 7 JEROME L. WILLIAMS 

